+91-98555-00292, 78145-01189, 93561-54141
Address:
7-Shivala Bhaiyan,Batala Road,
Amritsar, Punjab-143001
+91-98555-00292, 78145-01189, 93561-54141
Address:
7-Shivala Bhaiyan,Batala Road,
Amritsar, Punjab-143001
The hospital is named after Dr. Sohan Singh who was a gifted teacher of Ophthalmology and an exceptionally talented eye surgeon, apart from being a philanthropist, educationist, sportsman, connoisseur of music and a lovable a family man.
Those were the days of British rule in India. The British government of the day conferred upon him the personal title of Sardar Bahadur and appointed him honorary eye surgeon to the Viceroy of India in recognition of his outstanding professional services and achievements. His eagerness to see Indian Ophthalmology come upto world standards made him travel far and wide to places such as London, Vienna, Berlin and Paris to make himself familiar with the latest advances in the treatment of eye diseases.
Sardar Bahadur Dr. Sohan Singh passed away in 1961 and his Ophthalmologist son Dr. Ranbir Singh stepped into his father’s shoes in the hope of being able to maintain the standard set by his illustrious father.
Dr. Ranbir Singh received part of his post-graduate training in the Moorfield’s Eye Hospital, London where he specially concentrated on the subjects of squint and contact lenses. He retired as head of the department of Ophthalmology at the Medical College, Amritsar, in 1974, but maintained the tempo of his professional activities. Today at the age of 90 he is still active as a consultant.
Dr. Ranbir Singh’s son, Dr. Preetam Singh, is also a highly qualified Ophthalmologist in his own right. Dr. Preetam Singh did his Ophthalmology Post Graduation from Government Medical College, Amritsar and went on to do Super-Specialist Training Fellowship in Vitreo-Retinal Surgery under Padam Bhushan Dr. S.S. Badrinath in 1990 at the prestigious Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai. The Vitreo-Retinal Surgery services that this Hospital is known for, were started by Dr. Preetam Singh on his return from Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai.
Although the hospital offers medical and surgical care for all kinds of eye ailments, it is specially known for surgeries involving the Retina – the highly sensitive and delicate film which lines the inside of the back wall of the eye. It is the function of the retina to perceive and register visual impressions reaching it from objects outside the eye. If, for any reason the retina gets detached from its bed, it begins to degenerate and lose its ability to perceive and register visual impulses reaching it from objects outside the eye. Irreversible visual damage may result if the detachment remains untreated for a long time. The required retina surgery in such cases involves delicate surgical procedures aimed at restoring eye sight by putting the detached retina back into its normal position. The hospital is a pioneer in this particular field of eye surgery in Northern India, having initiated it as long ago as March 1979.The first Retinal Detachment procedure in the hospital was done in March 1979 and the first Pars Plana Vitrectomy in October 1983. In the words of Dr. Preetam Singh, retinal conditions that were considered intractable a few years back, have now become treatable, thanks to the revolutionary advances in the knowledge and technology made during the course of past two decades.
And now, true to family tradition, Dr. Preetam Singh’s both sons Dr. Veer Singh and Dr. Arjan Singh, have also emerged as highly qualified and promising Ophthalmologists who have joined the hospital after doing their Super-Specialist Training Retina Surgery Fellowships like their Father from the prestigious Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai.
Apart from Ophthalmology, Dr. Preetam Singh is a keen aviator, linguist, marathon runner and a skier. He is equally proficient in spoken and written German & Russian. He is also a talented artist and a painter, a facet unknown to most.
The hospital offers a special long-term fellowship training program in Vitreo-Retina and has already imparted training to doctors from various parts of the country, as well as those from places as far away as Uzbekistan and Ghana. The hospital enjoys the privilege of hosting visiting Ophthalmologists from places all over the world such as USA, Europe, Africa etc.
Personal comforts and conveniences of patients receive special attention at the hands of the hospital staff. In the words of the Director, Chief Anaesthesiologist and Hospital Administrator, Dr. Reena Makhni, it is made clear to everyone who takes up service in this hospital that the patients’ needs and comforts must receive maximum attention to the exclusion of every other consideration. The hospital has special provisions for poor patients who cannot afford the usual cost of treatment.
In the light of ever growing needs and demands of its patients the hospital has now moved to a more suitable New Modern State of the Art Facility outside the walled city at 7- Shivala Bhaiyan, Batala Road, Amritsar, Punjab.
Dr. Sohan Singh was born in November 1882 in the village of Sahowala, District Sialkot in undivided India. His father Dr. Jagat Singh was a medic in the British Indian Army who also served for a while in Burma and in the north-west frontier areas of Waziristan.
Sohan Singh received his primary education in the village school at Sahowala from 1889 to 1894 where one of his early mentors Maulvi Gulam Qadir who taught him Urdu became a family friend and used to visit the family in Amritsar when the family moved there.
After receiving secondary education from Government High School in Sialkot from 1894 to 1900 Sohan Singh joined the D.A.V. College Lahore and completed his Intermediate F.S.C. (medical group) from 1900 to 1902.
He joined the King Edward Medical College Lahore thereafter (1902 to 1907) and had a brilliant academic career in which he stood first in all the five years of his medical studies and was the recipient of the Burton Brown Medal in Medicine in 1907.He earned his Diploma of L.M.S. (Licentiate of Medicine and Surgery) from the Punjab University in the same year.
Sohan Singh’s father Dr. Jagat Singh was a strict disciplinarian and expected the children to be strictly truthful. The family was also very religious and Sohan Singh remembers visiting the village Gurdwara with his grandfather Nanak Singh when he was just four years old. Religious as the family was, Sohan Singh while studying in Lahore (1900 to 1907) was deeply influenced by the Singh Sabha Movement at that time and incorporated the daily habit of reciting some “Shabads” from the Guru Granth Sahib and lived by the advice contained therein, a habit he continued throughout life.
Dr. Sohan Singh joined the Provincial Civil Medical Services (P.C.M.S.) in 1907 and retired as Vice-Principal, Medical School Amritsar in 1939.In this span of 32 years he was House Surgeon Eye Wards, Mayo Hospital, Lahore from 1908 to 1910 and after joining the teaching staff of Medical College, Lahore in 1910,Demonstrator Anatomy from 1910 to 1914,Lecturer and Senior Demonstrator from 1914 to 1920,Lecturer, Anatomy, Medical School, Amritsar from 1920 to 1922, Lecturer, Diseases of Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat, Medical School Amritsar from 1929 to 1939.
Dr. Sohan Singh was conferred the title of Sardar Sahib in 1924 and the title of Sardar Bahadur in 1938 by the British Indian Government and was also appointed Honorary Assistant Surgeon to the Viceroy of India from 1937 to 1939 in recognition of his outstanding contribution towards the alleviation of blindness due to eye diseases in northern India. In 1956 he received the Padam Shree award from the first President of independent India, Dr. Rajinder Prasad.
Apart from these honors Dr. Sohan Singh was also a recipient of the King George’s V, Silver Jubilee medal in 1935 and King George’s VI, Coronation medal in 1937.He also received the Sword of Honour from the Governing Council of the Khalsa College Amritsar in 1958.
Dr. Sohan Singh was also a philanthropist and a social worker and was deeply involved in charitable work. Apart from free consultations he conducted thousands of free eye operations at various places more notably at Ambala and at the Central Khalsa Hospital in Tarn Taran. He was a truly gifted surgeon and was a master at the Smith’s tumbling technique for Cataract Surgery using a von Graefe’s knife.
He kept himself abreast with the latest developments in the field of eye surgery and visited Europe in 1933 and spent three months in various hospitals in Vienna, Berlin, Paris and London. A Zeiss slit lamp biomicroscope and a diathermy machine which he brought back are a testimony to his eagerness to bring state of the art equipment and skills to India.
Dr. Sohan Singh was also an avid horse rider and his love for fine Arab horses was well known. He would purchase young mares at the annual horse fairs during Baisakhi or Diwali and would train the horses himself. During the early years of his medical career he always rode to the Victoria Jubilee (V.J.) hospital on horseback from Khalsa College where his father lived. Later when motor cars came to India, automobiles became his passion.
Apart from Punjabi, Urdu and English, Dr. Sohan Singh was also fluent in Farsi and would speak to his patients from Afghanistan in Farsi. He was also interested in learning Arabic and the jovial Arabic teacher from the Khalsa College namely Murtaza Hussian would often visit him at home to brush up his Arabic skills.
At a personal level, Dr. Sohan Singh led a very simple family life. His wife Sardarni Kartar Kaur (maiden name Gurdevan) though an ordinary village lady from Daska near Sahowal, was an extremely gentle lady and a sea of wisdom even though she had no formal education.
Dr. Sohan Singh passed away on April 5th 1961 after a brief illness of a few months during which time he was nursed by his daughter-in-law Dr. Rajinder Kaur. He was cheerful, alert and conscious till the last and even from his sick bed he dictated translations of selected passages from the Guru Granth Sahib which appeared in the form of a booklet just a few weeks before his death.
1) Born in Amritsar on 7th May 1916.
2) Had schooling at Khalsa College School, G.T. Road, Amritsar. Matriculated in 1932.
3) Did F.S.C. (Medical) from Khalsa College, Amritsar in 1934, then shifted to Lahore and joined B.Sc. (Medical) at Govt. College, Lahore.Got admission to King Edward’s Medical College Lahore in 1936.
4) Graduated from Medical College Lahore in 1941.
5) Joined Army in 1942 (during World War-II). Got married in October 1942 to Dr. (Mrs.) Rajinder Kaur of Sargodha (Daughter of S. Bagh Singh and Bibi Narain Kaur)
6) Remained in army upto 1945 in the rank of Captain. Served at various places: Quetta in Balochistan (now in Pakistan) and subsequently with Eastern Command on Burma Border (against Imperial Japanese Forces), in command of a field anti-Malaria unit. Attended three intensive courses during army service, got distinction in two.
7) Had to apply for release from the army in 1945 on account of unavoidable family circumstances (elder brother Major Vir Singh killed in action in Burma in February 1945).
8) Joined Medical College Amritsar in 1946 as Demonstrator in Anatomy against a PCMS post.
9) Did D.O. (Diploma in Ophthalmology) in 1947. Started thesis on “Comparative value of various operations in Chronic Glaucoma” in preparation for M.S. examination, while still serving in Anatomy Department.
10) Was transferred as Medical Officer (on deputation) to Central Railway Workshop Amritsar in 1948. Remained there for two years but continued to prepare thesis for M.S.
11) After two transfers (first to Civil Hospital, Nakodar in Jalandhar Distt. and second to Simla, returned to Amritsar as Refractionist in Eye Department, Ram Lal Eye Hospital in 1950.
12) Completed M.S. in December 1955.
13) Was promoted Assistant Prof. in Ophthalmology in 1957.
14) Special subject for Post-Graduate classes was “Refraction”.
15) Was selected for higher training abroad (in Contact lenses and Squint) under Colombo Plan in 1962.
16) Joined Moorfields Eye Hospital in London in January 1963 for one year course of training and returned to Medical College Amritsar in mid 1964.
17) Was promoted Professor in 1969.
18) Retired in 1974 as Professor and Head of Eye Department, Ram Lal Eye Hospital, Amritsar.
19) Other activities: i) Eye surgeon to (Charitable) Central Khalsa Hospital, Tarn Taran since 30 years. - President, Local Committee , Chief Khalsa Dewan Tarn Taran for the last 20 years. - President, Managing Committee, S.G.T.B. Public School, Khankot, G.T. Road, Amritsar. - Manager Shri Guru Harkrishan Public School, G.T. Road, Amritsar - Interest in foreign languages, did B.A. in French from G.N.D.U., Amritsar (with distinction in 1980) - Formerly, Vice-President, Khalsa College, Managing Committee, Amritsar
20) Children: Rajbir Singh born March, 1944 Nauneet Kaur born October 1947 Preetam Singh born September 1957
21) Lost beloved wife and life partner on 28th June 2005.
MBBS, DOMS (EYE), FVRS, FMRF (SANKARA NETHRALAYA)
Director, Eye Specialist Retina Surgeon
Dr. Preetam Singh did his schooling from Punjab Public School Nabha and joined the Govt. Medical College Amritsar in 1976.He completed his MBBS in 1981 and DOMS in 1984 from the same institute and joined rural medical services in border areas (PCMS) for five years.
His first introduction to retinal surgery came in 1979. In 1990 he was awarded a Vitreo-Retinal Surgery Fellowship under Padam Bhushan Dr. S.S. Badrinath at the prestigious Sankara Nethralya, Chennai (then Madras). He also went on to do an observership in Vitreo-Retinal Diseases, University Eye Hospital, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany.
He joined practice full-time after completing his formal fellowship training in 1991.
Apart from upgrading the Vitreoretinal services to provide state of the art treatment to patients, he has also represented the hospital at various national and international fora by presenting papers and guest lectures. He has authored and co-authored publications in the journals Retina, Ophthalmic Surgery, Indian Journal of Ophthalmology and the Journal of the Ophthalmological Society of Pakistan.
At present he is the Director and Eye Specialist Retina Surgeon at this Hospital.
MBBS, MS (EYE), FVRS, FMRF (SANKARA NETHRALAYA), FICO (Retina, U.K.), FASRS (U.S.A)
Director, Eye Specialist Retina & Cataract Surgeon
Specialities:
Vitreo-Retinal Surgery
Phacoemulsification Cataract Surgery (Stitch-less and Without injection)
Medical Retina and Uvea
Dr. Veer Singh MBBS, MS, FVRS, FMRF (Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai), FICO (Retina, London, U.K.) is the great-grandson of late Padma Shri Dr. Sohan Singh after whom Dr. Sohan Singh Eye Hospital is named. He is the son of Dr. Preetam Singh, grandson of late Dr. Ranbir Singh (Bapu ji). Adding to the family legacy, he and his younger brother Dr. Arjan Singh (currently doing Vitreo-Retina Fellowship from Sankara, Nethralaya, Chennai) are the 4th generation of Ophthalmologists.
Dr. Veer Singh is a Vitreo-Retinal Surgeon and Phacoemulsification Cataract Surgeon at Dr. Sohan Singh Eye Hospital, Amritsar. He did his MBBS from KLE Society Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Belgaum in 2011 and MS Ophthalmology from SMC, Meerut in 2015 where he topped his batch in the MS exam.
He then joined Dr. Sohan Singh Eye Hospital, Amritsar as a Vitreo-Retina fellow, where he was introduced to Retinal surgery by his father Dr. Preetam Singh. In September 2015, he went on to do a surgical fellowship in Phacoemulsification Cataract surgery from Dr. Shroff Charity Eye Hospital, New Delhi under the guidance of Dr. Umang Mathur.
Soon after that in April 2016 he was awarded a 2 year Surgical Fellowship in Vitreo-Retinal diseases at India best Eye Institute, Medical Research Foundation, Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai (SN, Chennai), which is also the only eye hospital from India to make it to the Newsweek Best 100 Speciality Hospitals of the World 2020. His formal training in Vitreo-Retinal surgery and diseases was at this Institution (SN, Chennai) under such stalwarts as Dr. Lingam Gopal, Dr. Tarun Sharma, Dr. Pramod Bhende, Dr. Muna Bhende, Dr. Parveen Sen and others. His rigorous training at this premier institute helped him gain experience with the latest technology, equipment, techniques and methodology used in surgical and medical retina today.
After finishing his Vitreo-Retinal fellowship, he went on to do an observership in Uveitic diseases from the same institute under the guidance of none other than Dr. Jyotirmay Biswas (Head of Dept., Uvea services, Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai).
He then went on to do an Advanced Phacoemulsification Cataract Surgery fellowship from Sushrut Eye Hospital, Kolkata followed by an Advanved Vitreo-Retinal development programme at Aravind Eye Hospital, Coimbatore under Dr. V.R. Sarvanan (Head of Dept., Vitreo-Retina services, Aravind Eye Hospital, Coimbatore).
Dr. Veer Singh cleared the International Council of Ophthalmology-International Retina Examination, London, U.K. in 2018 which is the highest possible test of up-to-date knowledge and signifies a high level of competence in the field of Surgical and Medical Retina.
Dr. Veer Singh has also been awarded the prestigious Fellowship of American Society of Retina Specialists (FASRS).
After returning home from Chennai, he joined Dr. Sohan Singh Eye Hospital, Amritsar as a Vitreo-Retinal and Uvea specialist in 2018. His expertise lies in 23G, 25G, 27G (Stitch-less) Micro-Incision Vitrectomy Surgery (MIVS) for Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment, Diabetic Tractional and Combined Retinal Detachment, Vitreous Haemorrhage, Macular Hole, Epiretinal membrane, Endophthalmitis, Ocular Trauma/injury, Giant Retinal tears and Scleral Buckling. Apart from Retinal surgery he also specialises in Phacoemulsification Cataract surgery (Stitch-less) under topical anaesthesia (without injection).
Apart from surgery, his areas of interest include diagnosis and management of various Medical Retinal and Uveitic diseases such as Age Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD), Retinal Vein and Artery Occlusions, Hypertensive Retinopathy, Diabetic Retinopathy, Central Serous Retinopathy, Hereditary Retinal Diseases, Myopic Eye problems and various kinds of ocular infectious and inflammatory diseases including Ocular Tuberculosis.
He is a life member of:
All India Ophthalmological Society (AOIS)
Vitreo Retina Society of India (VRSI)
Punjab Ophthalmological Society (POS)
North Zone Ophthalmological Society (NZOS)
Delhi Ophthalmological Society (DOS)
He has several publications in various peer-reviewed journals to his credit and is himself a reviewer. He has also contributed chapters in Ophthalmology text books. He has had the privilege of presenting scientific presentations and has been invited as a guest speaker at several state and national conferences and has won several awards.
Apart from participating in conferences, in 2019 he organised one of the biggest and the first of its kind retina conference in Amritsar by the name Amritsar Retina Meet which had eminent faculty invited all the way from Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai, PGI, Chandigarh and other parts of the country. The meeting was a grand success and saw an attendance of around 500 ophthalmologists from all over the country.
At present he is the Director and Eye Specialist Retina & Cataract Surgeon at this Hospital.
MBBS, MS (EYE), FVRS, FMRF (SANKARA NETHRALAYA)
Director, Eye Specialist Retina & Cataract Surgeon
Specialities:
Vitreo-Retinal Surgery
Phacoemulsification Cataract Surgery
Medical Retina and Uvea
Dr. Arjan Singh MBBS, MS, FVRS, FMRF (Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai) is the great-grandson of late Padma Shri Dr. Sohan Singh after whom Dr. Sohan Singh Eye Hospital is named. He is the son of Dr. Preetam Singh, grandson of late Dr. Ranbir Singh (Bapu ji). Adding to the family legacy, he and his elder brother Dr. Veer Singh are the 4th generation of Ophthalmologists.
Dr. Arjan Singh is a Vitreo-Retinal Surgeon and Phacoemulsification Cataract Surgeon at Dr. Sohan Singh Eye Hospital, Amritsar. He did his MBBS from Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College KLE University, Belgaum in 2015 and MS Ophthalmology from Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha in 2019.
In January 2020, he went on to do a surgical fellowship in Phacoemulsification Cataract surgery from Shri Ganesh Vinayak Eye Hospital, Raipur under the guidance of Dr. Charudutt Kalamkar , Dr. Amrita Mukherjee and Dr. Rohit Rao.
Soon after that in August 2020 (during the COVID Pandemic) he was awarded a 2 year Surgical Fellowship in Vitreo-Retinal diseases at India best Eye Institute, Medical Research Foundation, Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai (SN, Chennai), which is also the only eye hospital from India to make it to the Newsweek Best 100 Speciality Hospitals of the World 2020. His formal training in Vitreo-Retinal surgery and diseases was at this Institution (SN, Chennai) under such stalwarts as Dr. Lingam Gopal, Dr. Pramod Bhende, Dr. Muna Bhende, Dr. Rupak Roy, Dr. Dhanashree Ratra Dr. Parveen Sen and others. His rigorous training at this premier institute helped him gain experience with the latest technology, equipment, techniques and methodology used in surgical and medical retina today.
After finishing his Vitreo-Retinal fellowship, he went on to do an observership in Uveitic diseases from the same institute under the guidance of none other than Dr. Jyotirmay Biswas (Head of Dept., Uvea services, Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai).
After returning home from Chennai, he joined Dr. Sohan Singh Eye Hospital, Amritsar as a Vitreo-Retinal and Uvea specialist in 2022. His expertise lies in 23G, 25G, 27G (Stitch-less) Micro-Incision Vitrectomy Surgery (MIVS) for Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment, Diabetic Tractional and Combined Retinal Detachment, Vitreous Haemorrhage, Macular Hole, Epiretinal membrane, Endophthalmitis, Ocular Trauma/injury, Giant Retinal tears and Scleral Buckling. Apart from Retinal surgery he also specialises in Phacoemulsification Cataract.
Apart from surgery, his areas of interest include diagnosis and management of various Medical Retinal and Uveitic diseases such as Age Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD), Retinal Vein and Artery Occlusions, Hypertensive Retinopathy, Diabetic Retinopathy, Central Serous Retinopathy, Hereditary Retinal Diseases, Myopic Eye problems and various kinds of ocular infectious and inflammatory diseases including Ocular Tuberculosis.
He is a life member of:
All India Ophthalmological Society (AIOS)
Vitreo Retina Society of India (VRSI)
Punjab Ophthalmological Society (POS)
North Zone Ophthalmological Society (NZOS)
Delhi Ophthalmological Society (DOS)
At present he is the Director and Eye Specialist Retina & Cataract Surgeon at this Hospital.
1. Dr. Rajiv Aggarwal (Amritsar)
2. Dr. Ajay Khanna (Amritsar)
3. Dr. Senh Lata Mishra
4. Dr. S. P. Khanna
5. Dr. Preeti Gupta
6. Dr. Bhavna Bhatia (Amritsar)
7. Dr. Balbir Singh (Patiala)
8. Dr. K.S. Kishore (Vijaywada)
9. Dr. R.K. Mengi (Jammu)
10. Dr. Parveen Kharbanda (Chennai)
11. Dr. Firdaus Sukhi (Dubai)
12. Dr. Manohar Chhalvadi (Vijaywada)
13. Dr. Ranbir Singh Dhillon (Amritsar)
14. Dr. Kumar Chugani (Mumbai)
15. Dr. Pankaj Gupta (Moga)
16. Dr. Akshey Khera (Uzbekistan)
17. Dr. Harprit Singh (New Delhi)
18. Dr. Rumita Dhadwal (Maharashtra)
19. Dr. Jaspreet Singh Sra (Bhatinda)
20. Dr. Rajiv Saini (Mukerian)
21. Dr. Ajay Singh (Amritsar)
22. Dr. Sabia Rashid (Srinagar)
23. Dr. Sandeep Gupta (Jammu)
24. Dr. Sophia (Amritsar)
25. Dr. Gagan Chalana (Abohar)
26. Dr. Timur Yusupov (Uzbekistan)
27. Dr. Sudhir Baburdikar (Pune)
28. Dr. Rajan Bhatia (Mukerian)
29. Dr. Syed Ali Wajid (Pakistan)
30. Dr. Syed Yasir Mustafa (Srinagar)
31. Dr. Sanat Fayzulloev (Uzbekistan)
32. Dr. Rhibhu Soni (Ludhiana)
33. Dr. Ankur Goel (Jammu)
34. Dr. Rubina Soni (Ludhiana)
35. Dr. Bodhraj Dhawan (Faridabad)
36. Dr. Taranpreet Kaur (Amritsar)
37. Dr. Hammad Rashid Nasti (Srinagar)
38. Dr. Veer Singh (Amritsar)
39. Dr. Arjun Gautam (Mukerian)
40. Dr. Francis Obeng (Ghana)
41. Dr. Navneet Kaur (Pathankot)
42. Dr. Naeem Namazi (Maharashtra)
43. Dr. Anuraag Singh (Pathankot)
44. Dr. Sumantra Jyoti (Chandigarh)
45. Dr. Brahmjot Singh Walia (Patiala)
46. Dr. Ishan Kataria (Bathinda)
47. Dr. Shubneek Kaur (Ludhiana)
48. Dr. Dharmentra Kumar (Bihar)
49. Dr. Harvinder Singh (Sirsa)
50. Dr. Harmanjot Singh (Ropar)
A cataract is formed when the natural eye lens becomes cloudy with age. A cataract can also occur following injury (trauma) or infection (uveitis). The hospital is equipped to perform stitchless cataract micro surgery with intraocular lens implantation of all kinds. Pediatric as well as adult cataracts are operated here on a routine basis.
To understand cataract, one has to visualize that an eye behaves like a camera with a transparent lens focusing light on the reel of the eye i.e. retina. The picture so formed on the retina is then sent to the brain via a nerve to complete the process of seeing. When this lens starts becoming opaque or white, the problem is labeled cataract. So when the lens is partially opaque, it is called an immature cataract and some light can pass through to help perform some routine functions. However, when the opacity increases to engulf the entire lens, vision is totally cut off and the cataract is called mature.
There is a painless gradual decrease in vision. Early cataract is associated with difficulty in reading in normal light conditions, and extra illumination is required. Excessive glare and reduced sharpness can make night driving difficult. Some experience a rapid changes in the number / power of glasses. In advanced cases there is complete loss of sight and pupil becomes pearly white in colour.
There is a painless progressive diminution of vision. Initially some help is achieved by changing the spectacle number, but in advance cases the spectacles also prove to be ineffective.
Cataract usually occurs in the elderly after the age of fifty and is called senile cataract. Cataract can sometimes occur in the new born due to development problems, in the young due to injury and in any age due to an extension of another eye problem.
There are no medicines to treat cataract. The answer lies only in surgery where the cataract is removed and replaced by an intra-ocular lens.
Like water in a balloon gives it a round shape, similarly the eye is kept round with a certain fluid pressure inside it. When this pressure increases, it can cause irreversible damaged to vision. This is called glaucoma.
Surgery to correct this condition is called trabeculectomy. Surgical glaucoma procedures are also done in this hospital on routine basis.
Glaucoma is the most serious eyesight threatening condition of the eye. It usually manifests as a painless gradual loss of vision. The lost vision can never be recovered. However, medical or surgical treatment can prevent or retard further loss of vision. Many a times it can be confused with a cataract which also manifests as a painless gradual loss of vision. The difference is that in the case of cataract, the loss of vision is fully recoverable by means of a simple surgery called Phaco. Our eyes contain a clear fluid called aqueous humour, which is continuously produced in the eye to bath and nourish the structures inside it. The fluid normally drains out of the eye through drainage canals in a fine meshwork located around the edge of the iris (the coloured part of the eye that surrounds the pupil). In people with glaucoma the fluid fails to drain due to some defect and thus increases the pressure inside the eyes called raised Intraocular Pressure (IOP) (or Tension).
In most cases of glaucoma, the patient is not aware of the gradual loss of sight until vision is significantly impaired.
However, if glaucoma progresses without adequate treatment, the following symptoms may occur in some individuals:
• Pain around the eyes when coming out from darkness (e.g., as soon as the person comes out of a cinema hall)
• Coloured halo rings seen around light bulbs especially in the mornings and nights
• Frequent change of reading glasses, headaches, pain and redness of the eyes
• Reduced vision in dim illumination and during nights
• Gradual decrease of side vision with progression of glaucoma
The front part of the eye that allows light to enter it and thereby lets us see is called the cornea.
In diseases that involve the cornea such as corneal ulcers of infective origin, prompt diagnosis and management is vital to restore useful vision. Our hospital has an ophthalmic microbiology laboratory for this purpose on its premises.
A cornea transplant, which replaces damaged tissue on the eye’s clear surface, also is referred to as a corneal transplant, keratoplasty, penetrating keratoplasty (PK) or corneal graft.
A graft replaces central corneal tissue, damaged due to disease or injury, with healthy corneal tissue donated from a local eye bank. An unhealthy cornea affects your vision by scattering or distorting light and causing blurry or glary vision. A cornea transplant may be necessary to restore your functional vision.
An unhealthy cornea affects your vision by scattering or distorting light and causing blurry or glary vision. A cornea transplant may be necessary to restore your functional vision. Cornea transplants are performed routinely in our hospital n fact, of all tissue transplants, the most successful is a corneal transplant.
Strabismus, also known as crossed or turned eye, is the medical term used when the two eyes are not straight. It occurs in approximately 2 to 4 percent of the population.
Symptoms
• Turned or crossed eye
• Squinting
• Head tilting or turning
• Double vision (in some cases)
Diagnosis
It is possible to examine a child of any age for squint and determine whether the eyes are properly focused. If you are not sure whether your child’s eyes are straight, consult your family doctor, who may advise referring the child to an ophthalmologist.
The ophthalmologist may use special tests, such as prism testing, to evaluate the alignment of the eyes.
Risk Factors
Most commonly, a tendency to have some type of squint is inherited. If any members of your family have had squint, the condition is more likely to develop in your child.
Sometimes the condition is due to the eyes being far-sighted and the need for corrective eyeglasses or, occasionally, to some muscle abnormality. Very rarely, squint may be secondary to a serious abnormality inside the eye, such as a cataract or tumour.